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Big 12 M5: 10.25.13 Edition

Posted by Kory Carpenter on October 25th, 2013

Here’s a great take on the Rick Barnes and Mack Brown situations at Texas by Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News. Texas is arguably the best football job in the country and a top 10 basketball job, but both Brown and Barnes have struggled as of late. If it is any consolation for Barnes, he likely has a longer leash than Brown at this point in time. The Longhorn basketball team has little in the way of expectations this year, and like almost every other year, they have little expectations from locals. I wouldn’t be shocked if an NCAA Tournament bid saved Barnes next spring.

Not only does Bill Self have one of the most talented rosters in college basketball, and not only is Bill Self one of the best coaches in college basketball, but Self has as much versatility as anyone heading into this season. He has tall guards, athletic big men, and everything in-between. This is what he told the Lawrence Journal-World‘s Gary Bedore about two of his starting guards, Andrew Wiggins and Wayne Selden: “We’ve got to get Andrew (Wiggins) and Wayne opportunities to catch in the post. They could be two of our very best post players,” Self said. That’s on a team with McDonald’s All-American forward Perry Ellis and potential top-10 draft pick Joel Embiid down low as well.

From Michael Beasley to Jacob Pullen to Rodney McGruder to… Shane Southwell? Maybe. The 6’7” forward had a good season last year, averaging 8.4 PPG for the Wildcats. But as Ken Corbitt points out, he won’t be able to sneak up on teams this year. He will be the best offensive option for Bruce Weber this season, without a doubt, and his performance could make the difference between the NCAA Tournament and NIT for Kansas State.

Lon Kruger landed a solid commitment from four-star forward Khadeem Lattin yesterday, Guerin Emig of the Tulsa World writes here. Lattin had offers from Texas, Memphis, and Georgetown, among others, according to Rivals.com. The 6’9” power forward will be one of the most talented players for Kruger next season as he tries to make Oklahoma a Big 12 contender for the first time since Blake Griffin was still in school in 2009.

Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star gives us the best breakdown of all that is Joel Embiid right here. The Kansas freshman has slowly been gaining attention since this summer, but on a team along with Andrew Wiggins and Wayne Selden, he has remained in the background most of the time. And while he might not start until Christmas or even later, there is a reason NBA scouts think he can become a certain lottery pick in next summer’s draft.